This invention is generally directed to a sharps protection system and, in particular, to a sharps protection system for blood collection sets including those with butterfly IV structures, needles, scalpels and other sharp instruments intended to penetrate a person's skin.
As the knowledge of medical hazards increases and the threat of transmission of disease, through the transmission of bodily fluids and in particular blood, rises, greater care and concern has been allocated to the disposal of needles, syringes, scalpels and other sharp instruments used for either drawing blood, providing injections or otherwise piercing a patient's skin. A primary concern of the medical industry has been the prevention or avoidance of transmission of disease through the reuse of needles, syringes or other sharp implements. This concern has been dealt with, at least in the first world, with a complete reliance on disposable medical products. To assure that no patient receives a needle or syringe which has been infected by a prior user, at least American and most major developed countries' medical procedures have mandated the use of new sharp needles and syringes in all cases with appropriate disposal of used sharp implements (commonly referred to as "sharps"). The sharps problem has been addressed through the use of sharps disposal boxes which are color coded and maintained in doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals in a convenient fashion which facilitates proper disposal of any sharp implements which are to be discarded. Generally, the physician or nurse would use the sharps instrument on a patient and then, immediately following completion of that use, place the sharps instrument, or at least the sharp component of it, into the sharps collection box. Generally, the sharps collection boxes are configured as plastic containers with a small one-way opening at the top which allows a sharp item to be placed into the container but which prevents a sharp item within the container from being inadvertently removed from the container or falling out. Likewise, the sharps container traditionally has an opening which inhibits the ability of a user to inadvertently place their hand inside the box and touch the sharp items inside the sharps collection box.
While this approach has functioned satisfactorily in connection with most sharps instruments, such as the small razor sharp instruments used to extract a drop or two of blood and needles which are suited for easy disposal, there are other types of sharps instruments which are not adequately dealt with by the current technology.
In particular, a blood collection set including a butterfly IV is commonly used for collection of blood for testing purposes. Generally, the device includes a slender, hollow needle attached to a rubber or plastic or tube, terminating in a connector assembly for connecting to the receptacle for receiving the blood, and a thin, flexible plastic guide in the shape of a butterfly with two wings, one on each side of the needle, which allow the medical professional to slide the flexible needle at a shallow angle to the patient's arm. The butterfly plastic wings aid in the careful placement and guidance of the needle into the patient's arm in a relatively painless and efficient fashion. Once the blood has been drawn from the patient it is then necessary to dispose of the sharp instrument. Because of the tubing and butterfly wings attached to the needle it is often relatively complicated and dangerous to dispose of the set into a sharps container.
Because of the presence of blood on the collection set there is great concern about a medical professional inadvertently pricking his or her finger with the extremely sharp tip of the needle in further handling and in attempting to place the collection set into the sharps container. The same problem exists for other medical instruments, including sharp points and additional components which make handling and insertion of the instrument into the sharps collection box dangerous. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved IV blood collection set and other sharp instruments to be protected so that they may be handled following their use and prior to storage in a sharps container in a fashion which reduces or prevents the risk of the medical professional poking himself or herself with the sharp end of the instrument.